Running a small business can be a daunting task at times. It takes a lot of time and persistence to make sure you try to give it the best chance at succeeding.  Having certain pieces of technology can make this ever endless seeming job manageable.  Efficiency is the key here and can be a lifesaver!

So that’s it in a nutshell…I guess the next question is how has this piece of technology helped to move my business forward? Let me go back to the beginning….

I had inherited my restaurant back in 2001 and let’s just say some of the equipment in there was as old as the hills. I had a good bunch of staff but often some of our equipment would let us down, particularly our old ticket printer. It was located in the kitchen so that the staff could process the food orders when they came through. The trouble was that due to the humidity and heat it constantly used to jam up. You could bet your bottom dollar that it used to jam up right in the middle of the busiest spell of the night. On top of that, when it ran out of paper, it took an age and about six people to reload it and get it working again.

It was after a particularly bad service when I was flicking through a trade magazine that I came across the epson tm-u220 and ordered it. It looked a million miles from our big old clunky ticket machine. Instead it was small and compact. I have got to admit, I do try to be careful about spending money unnecessarily because as a small business the money back then was a very tight. However I also realised that we were losing customers because of technical issues. So I dug deep, made the purchase and had it installed.

Immediately I loved the way that it could fit anywhere. We had the wall mounted version which meant that it freed up valuable space in the kitchen which was taken up by the previous machine. I also loved the way that it was easy to clean. It had a protective layer, so any dressing or oil splashes were easily removed.

Very soon our efficiency got better, and we were able to serve our customers quicker with much less waiting time and as a result were able to turn tables. This inevitably resulted in more customers through the doors and ultimately more profit for my business.

So as you can see I had the opportunity to use technology to better my business and I did.  I hope that this helps all of the small business owners out there a little and maybe you can share your technology story that helped you?